intellijel/plonk
Plonk
Physical modelling percussion synthesizer developed in collaboration with Applied Acoustics Systems. Breaks sound into an exciter (mallet or noise) and a resonator (string, beam, marimba, drumhead, membrane, or plate) to synthesize percussive and pitched sounds. Two-voice polyphonic, 128 preset slots, CV-controllable with four modulation inputs.639
Capabilities 1
- Physical Modeling Percussionphysical-modeling-percussion
- Uses exciter (mallet + noise) fed into resonator (string, beam, marimba, drumhead, membrane, or plate) physical models developed with Applied Acoustics Systems. Two-voice polyphonic with 128 preset slots.639
Jacks 8 — 7 in / 1 out
| Name | Signal | Voltage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs (7) | |||
| DECAY | cv | -5V to 5V | 639 |
| MOD | cv | -5V to 5V | 639 |
| PITCH | cv | -5V to 5V | 1 V/octave pitch input. Summed with PITCH knob. Pitch is updated only while TRIG input is high.639 |
| TRIG | gate | — | Triggers the exciter in response to a gate. Gate must be at least 1ms to be detected. If noise envelope is AHR, envelope holds for the gate duration.639 |
| VEL | cv | ≤5V | Velocity input, normalled to +5V. Controls velocity or volume depending on VEL Mode setting.639 |
| X | cv | -5V to 5V | 639 Assignable destinations Mallet / Noise Mix639 Mallet Stiffness639 Noise Attack639 Noise Decay639 Noise Density639 Noise Lowpass Cutoff639 Noise Lowpass Envelope639 Noise Lowpass Q639 Noise Highpass Cutoff639 Noise Highpass Envelope639 Noise Highpass Q639 Resonator Decay639 Resonator Position639 Resonator Tone639 Resonator Inharmonicity639 Resonator Pitch Envelope Amount639 Resonator Pitch Envelope Decay639 Saturation639 Bitcrusher639 |
| Y | cv | -5V to 5V | 639 |
| Outputs (1) | |||
| OUT | audio | — | 639 |
Parameters 34
| Name | Type | Range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcrusher | menu_setting | 1bit – 10bit | Bit reduction effect. Adjustable from off (full resolution) down to 1-bit. Exempt from randomize. Has integrated output level compensation.639 |
| DECAY Knob | knob | — | Scales overall sound decay time by scaling both noise envelope decay and resonator decay times. Fully clockwise = 100% of programmed decay values.639 |
| Mallet / Noise Mix | menu_setting | — | Controls the level balance between mallet and noise exciters. 100:0 = mallet only; 0:100 = noise only; intermediate values blend both.639 |
| Mallet Stiffness | menu_setting | — | Adjusts stiffness of the mallet. Higher stiffness = snappier, crisper attack. Lower stiffness = rounder, fuller attack.639 |
| MOD Destination | button | — | 639 |
| Noise Attack | menu_setting | — | Sets the duration of the attack stage of the noise envelope.639 |
| Noise Decay | menu_setting | — | Sets the duration of the decay stage of the noise envelope.639 |
| Noise Density | menu_setting | — | Controls rate of random noise generation. Low values produce individual clicks. High values produce continuous white noise. Range 50–100 suits bowed or snare sounds.639 |
| Noise Envelope Type | menu_setting | — | AR mode: attack then release. AHR mode: attack, hold (for gate duration at TRIG), then release. AHR is useful for open hihats or sustained sounds.639 |
| Noise Highpass Cutoff | menu_setting | — | Sets the cutoff frequency of the highpass filter applied to the white noise exciter. Best kept below the Noise Lowpass Cutoff value.639 |
| Noise Highpass Envelope | menu_setting | — | Sets the amount by which the noise envelope modifies the Noise Highpass Cutoff frequency.639 |
| Noise Highpass Q | menu_setting | — | Sets the resonance of the highpass filter applied to the noise exciter.639 |
| Noise Lowpass Cutoff | menu_setting | — | Sets the cutoff frequency of the lowpass filter applied to the white noise exciter.639 |
| Noise Lowpass Envelope | menu_setting | — | Sets the amount by which the noise envelope modifies the Noise Lowpass Cutoff frequency.639 |
| Noise Lowpass Q | menu_setting | — | Sets the resonance of the lowpass filter applied to the noise exciter.639 |
| Octave | menu_setting | — | Sets the base octave. The root note of the base octave is played when the PITCH knob is at 12 o'clock and 0V is at PITCH input.639 |
| Output Gain | menu_setting | -20dB – 40dB | Adjusts output gain of current patch from -20 dB to +40 dB, feeding Plonk's output limiter. Used to balance volume across patches.639 |
| PITCH Knob | knob | — | Tunes the base pitch of the module. Root note of the configured base octave plays when knob is at 12 o'clock and 0V is at PITCH input. When Quantize is off, sweeps ±2 octaves continuously; when on, steps through chromatic scale.639 |
| Polyphony | menu_setting | 1 – 2 | Sets resonator polyphony to 1 or 2. At 1, new triggers choke the previous sound. At 2, both sounds can ring out simultaneously; modulation locks at last value for the held voice.639 |
| Quantize | menu_setting | — | When disabled, PITCH knob sweeps ±2 octaves continuously. When enabled, PITCH knob steps through notes of the chromatic scale.639 |
| Resonator Decay | menu_setting | — | Sets the resonator decay time, affecting all partials equally.639 |
| Resonator Inharmonicity | menu_setting | -64 – 63 | Changes the frequency ratio of partials relative to root frequency. Negative values compress partials; positive values spread them. Large values dramatically alter timbre.639 |
| Resonator Low Cut | menu_setting | — | Attenuates lower partials for brighter sounds. Set to 0 for full resonator spectrum.639 |
| Resonator Pitch Envelope Amount | menu_setting | -64 – 63 | Sets the amount the internal pitch envelope affects resonator pitch. -64 = -1 octave, +63 = +1 octave.639 |
| Resonator Pitch Envelope Decay | menu_setting | — | Sets the time for the internal pitch envelope to decay to its final value.639 |
| Resonator Position | menu_setting | 0 – 127 | Controls where on the resonator the exciter signal is applied. Edge (0) to middle (127). Exciting at the middle attenuates many partials, producing a hollower sound.639 |
| Resonator Tone | menu_setting | — | Changes relative decay of partials, affecting perceived material. Lower values evoke wood/nylon/plastic; higher values evoke metal/glass.639 |
| Resonator Type | menu_setting | — | Selects from six resonator types: String, Beam, Marimba, Drumhead, Membrane, Plate. Each models a different physical object with distinct partial frequency relationships and timbral character.639 |
| Saturation | menu_setting | 0dB – 60dB | Asymmetric curve distortion. 0 = off, up to 60 dB distortion gain. Exempt from randomize. Has integrated output level compensation.639 |
| VEL Mode | menu_setting | — | Sets VEL input behaviour: 'accent' (default) accents notes when gate is present; 'dynamics' scales exciter strength proportional to voltage; 'volume' directly controls final output level.639 |
| X Destination | button | — | 639 |
| X Knob | knob | — | Bipolar control to manually modulate the parameter assigned to the X input.639 |
| Y Destination | button | — | 639 |
| Y Knob | knob | — | Bipolar control to manually modulate the parameter assigned to the Y input.639 |
Firmware history 7 versions
| Version | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.16 | 2019-05-09 | Bugfix: Fixed issue when Velocity is assigned to 'Volume.'639 |
| 1.15 | 2018-01-07 | Improved Output Gain range: renamed old 'Gain' to 'Output Gain' and expanded range from -20dB/+12dB to -20dB/+40dB.639 |
| 1.14 | 2018-12-28 | Added Saturation (asymmetric curve distortion, 0–60 dB, also X/Y/MOD destination) and Bit Crusher (bit reduction off to 1-bit, also X/Y/MOD destination) to CONFIG menu.639 |
| 1.13 | 2018-09-19 | Bugfix: Fixed noise filter envelope parameters.639 |
| 1.11 | 2018-06-15 | Bugfix: recalibration no longer required after firmware update.639 |
| 1.1 | 2018-05-11 | Added Noise Lowpass Envelope and Noise Highpass Envelope exciter parameters (also X/Y/MOD destinations); added R Pitch as X/Y/MOD destination for FM; new Gate Delay option (~2ms minimum latency); moved infrequent config options to Global Config submenu; pitch tracking improvements.639 |
| 1.0 | 2017-07-20 | Initial release.639 |
References 2
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[639]
Intellijel Plonk Manual v1.16 (2020-11-08)manual● verified 2026-05-21
- [640]